Departments - Computers - ECDL
Visually-impaired people and Information Technology
Information technology constitutes visually-impaired individuals an ideal way of getting information, knowledge and communication.
For this reason, their education in the use of computers was a first priority for the Lighthouse for the Blindof
Greece. From 1990 until today, more than 400 visually-impaired individuals have been educated in their use.
Educational programs
The training of visually-impaired individuals on the PC begins with the learning of the special software Hal, (screen reader) by which they can be informed at all times the contents of the screen. The training also includes:
- Operating System [ Windows XP ]
- Wordprocessing (MS Word)
- Use of Accounting Program (Excel)
- Surfing the Internet
- Using e-mail
- Use of a scanner to read texts
The educational programs last 9 months, from October to June.
Accompanying material
Trainees are given notes in Braille, enlarged printings for the partially-sighted, on cassettes (audio books) or in electronic form [ diskettes, CDs ].
Technical Support
Technical Support services are available for visually-impaired individuals.
- at the Lighthouse for the Blind facilities
- at their jobs
- by telephone
ECDL Certification
In 2004 the Lighthouse for the Blindbecame, with the sponsorship of DL Greece, a Certified DL Examination Centre for
visually-impaired users of PC’s.
In October 2005, an educational pilot program began to help visually-impaired individuals acquire a ECDL Certificate. The 10 participants in the program have already passed their first examinations with success in June 2006.